Ebola outbreak in eastern DRC claims thousands as activist shares survival story
Ebola has killed over 3,000 and infected 7,000 people in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, spreading across seven provinces; activist Judith Raupp, now on a European book tour, recounts life under the crisis.
An Ebola outbreak sweeping eastern Democratic Republic of Congo has killed over 3,000 people and produced at least 7,000 confirmed infections, with the disease now present in seven provinces. The crisis compounds long-standing insecurity, war and state repression that residents like Judith Raupp have endured for years. Raupp, a human-rights activist who has lived in Goma, the capital of Nord-Kivu, for 15 years training young journalists for an NGO, details her experiences in a newly released book titled “Morgen gehe ich einkaufen, falls der Markt noch steht.”
While the epidemic rages, she is on a reading tour across Switzerland and Germany, speaking from the Black Forest, her childhood home. The situation underscores the dire humanitarian and public-health challenges facing the region.
Why it matters
The outbreak threatens millions in a war-torn region, highlighting urgent health and humanitarian needs.
How this story developed
- Aug 23 Ebola toll in DRC climbs to over 5,500 cases as Pope calls for global aid
- Aug 31 The epidemic has spread to the Biena and Manguredjipa health zones, increasing the total number of affected zones to 60.
- Sep 1 More than 50,000 vaccine doses arrived for frontline workers.
- Sep 2 Confirmed cases rise to 6,186 and deaths increase to 3,007.
- Sep 13 A case confirmed in South‑Ubangi marked the virus’s spread to a seventh province.
- Sep 17 Confirmed cases have risen to over 7,200 and deaths to more than 3,500 since the outbreak was first declared.
- Sep 21 Vaccination of frontline health workers began in Ituri province.
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